Improvement



1.y GRIFFIN.

Cotton Picker.

No. 28,980..l

UNITED STATES- PATEsiTf ,O'FFICE.

y. V.I0-HN.GRIFlIViL or LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

vljivrpecvi-:wiENT'V iNcoTToN-Plckensg,

l Specification forming Vpurtof Letters Patent No. 28,980, dated J nlyl, 1860.

'To all 'whom it may concern:

,515e it known that 1,-JosN GRIFFxN, of Louisfville, -in the county of Jeerson end'Statonof Kentucky', havein-vex ted a. new and Improved Device for Picking or Harvesting Cotton; and

I do hereby declare that the following isy aflull,

` clea,and exact description of.l the same, rel

erence being had 'to the ame'xed drawings, makin-g a. partY of this specificatioihin which-4- Figure'l is a sectional viewot myinventon;

Fig. 2, a section of the same, taken inthe lineA w .'17, Fig. 1.

Similar ietters 'of reference indicate 'corref spending parts inthe several figures. Thisfinventionrelates to certain improvements in a machine for picking or harvesting .cottomfor wh ich ALetters Patent were' granted to me bearing date March 8, 1859, and Novempractical than either of the devices previously Yfllhiscup maybe of conicai or. other suitable form, and provided fwith a lining, of 'india-rubherorother suit'ahleexible materiahu. The cup B isperforated, as lshown at b, the perfo! rationsieitendigcircuiufereutially aroundV the cup. f

tube 'A passes, and 'the tube \",`withiu the lchannberC, is perforated, as sho'wuat c.

Dis a -valve-chest,-which is attached to' and a spring, e', attached to it. ',This lever H` has also-attached to it A.the stem f of a'valve, g,: said valve'working between its seat h' and a" stop, ,n-thechest D.4 riihe tube Eisproyided with a stop-cock, 1T.-vv I 'At thev inner endf the low coue,and is "composed of. three .ilongitudiz ythose skilled inthe .ar-t` to-,Kfully is an.. 'airy-tight jehambr, im .anion mel A me' a is iii-- ted a valve, J, which is irl. the -form of o. holnal and equal parts encompassed byan elastic hand', j,v wh'iclx has a tendency to ,keep itfiua closed state,

The picking-whoa is-senreu vto ni wim o r right ann of the operator by an elastic band, v K, which passes around a rod, k, attached-to' tube A, as shown clearly/ iu Fig. 1.

v L is an eye attached'toaftube, M, into which This-eye Vhas ,n elasticyband attached, which passes', `over the. shoulders ofthe operator, and may the back part of thetube A passes.

be arranged in anyuproper way to support the device, said, band being; attached'to an apparatuslike tli'eone descri bed,and which is held in the lei't hand.

" Thevoperzrtion'isasfollows: The aii inGs exhausted by any meanssuch au'one, for in:- stance, as is describedinmy' previous Letters Patent. The exhausting ot' ,the -air from G produces a vacuum-in the cylinder Fand valve-1 chest D, and the'exterual air. presses the valve g downward toward-the stop i, aud'while the valveis moving'from 'its seat h to' i the air rushes into the tube A, throughfthe perforatons c, into the .valve-chest. D, l'and .thence 'through tube E into cylinder F, and through the flexible tube F' in toG. If,'.at'the comi meucment of this operation, the oup' had. been placed "over a cottonfholl, the lining 'a would, under the external` pressure of the`A air.,

have closed around the cotton, .andj'it the-oie y haustion 4in finistere4 suflicieut `the cottonboll would have 'been det'ached: and would have. passed-drectlynthrough 'tube Aand valve'J.,v .and into', itsv receptacle g through the 4flexible tube N While the cup B'fisbeing, passed to' .o

thirdl'icll .the lever 1H ispressed-fby the .finger ofthe oiieratolyso as` to' force the vaglv'eg against justed over the third hell'.

Prins .uevifwonla Se"ofgratuuiatagin; `.picking cotton gartly shaken-ont from its bolla, f when thecetton cannot' llsfth 'p i'snl'.

oicntlyto form; 'a cutoff', stufe' -`the aimes.'

freely 'on the trunnions.

phere vand the exhaust. The arrangement would. also `give greater momentum to the cot- Aton when so loose in the holls as to require lese'- power to'dislodge it than would be required to force it into its receptacle; but as this force might be great enoughto detach the boll from ,the stalk'the stopcock I is employed-to regulate the same.

I n certain cases,where preferable, the cham- 'ber O may be supplied with condensed air and a pipe, 0, made tocommunicate with the valve-chest `D and the front part ot' the cup B. v

(See 'the part of Fig. l in which the above lette'rs have vprim es attached.) The picking-tube A in this arrangement is notfpertbrated, as-

shown at c in t Fig. 1. The operation of the valve g will bereadily seen. Byopeningthe air rushes throughpipe O, and into the front part 0f cup' B', driving the cotton through tube A.

It is important that the tubes N be attached to the carriage propcrly,.and this is eii'ected .as follows: P is tlie'rear end. of acarriuge, and

.Q is a metallic tube-curved slightly ut its uppefrpart andjhnng on trun-nions h hin the carriage, the tube being allowed' to swingr i Within this tube Q a hollow stem, R, is fitted land allowed to slide freely' up und down, and is retained in the tube this arrangement a free movement of the tubesl .N 'is permitted, and the. manipulation of the picker-tubes A greatly facilitated.

The tubes N are constructed of a spiralwire or they may be constructed in any other way,

,sc long as exible and openl tubes are `obtained. In consequence of having the tubes open the dust iszallowed to 'escupe from the cotton whilethe latter' is passing into the receiver through the tubes N.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new. and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-V l. The arrangementoi'. the cylinder F, 'cham- -ber C, valve-.chest D, and exhaustreceiver G,-

in-'connection with the pickel-tube A and cup B. substantially as and 'for the purpose set forth. 1

2. The arrangement ofthe picker-tube A with the condensed-air cham ber C', valve-chest.` D', and pipe O, communicating with the cup *Bt and valve-chest; as and'for the'purpose' specified. Y

3. Attaching the cotton-conducting tube or tubes N to the carriage by'means ot' the tube Q, suspended or hung on trunnions h It', and

the hollow stem R, fitted Within the tube Q and secured therein by-the springs S S, ,sube stantinily as described l 4. The combinution'of the tiexibleand open tubes N, Vfor the purpose specified.

' JOHN '.STRIFFULL` Witnesses:

SAML. lifIMLucicV B. F. CAMP, JOHN K. LANE. 

